Money in the Game of Golf: LIV vs PGA

We dive into the world of golf news, with this sport showcasing a massive increase in prize money over the last number of years. Money has caused the game to be split, as a result of the introduction of the Saudi-backed LIV golf tour in 2022. Players chose to leave the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour, and received massive signing bonuses, before even hitting a shot.

The PGA tour has introduced signature events with bigger prize money and no cut in the hope of deterring players away from LIV golf. In the 2024 season, there were eight signature events. Both the LIV and PGA tour are approaching their season's end, so let’s dive in and compare what the top five players have earned in each tour, to see the potential differences in earnings, and to make ourselves feel bad about what they earn!

Some of the figures that were rumoured were Phil Mickelson’s supposed $200m signing bonus, Brooks Koepka’s $50m signing bonus, and Dustin Johnson’s $30m signing bonus - all astronomical amounts of money. This is on top of the money that they earn from competing in LIV events. The purse for LIV events is usually $25m with $4m going to the individual winner and $5m up for grabs in the team competition. Last place usually earns somewhere in the region of $50,000, and as there is no cut on the LIV tour, each player has a guaranteed payday each time they tee it up, unlike the DP tour and the PGA tour.

LIV Golf Top Earners

The LIV golf league is certainly known for the amount of money that players can win, with cash up for grabs in both the individual and team portions of the events, and prize money afforded to everyone in the field, as a result of there being no cut. There is just one regular event left in the LIV golf tour in 2024 before their end-of-season events in Jeddah. The top five earners on the LIV Golf tour have all earned double figures in the millions this year alone. In 5th place is Tyrrell Hatton, who is in his debut year with LIV golf, he has earned $10,630,263. Brooks Koepka is next on the list with earnings of $11,038,615 in 2024. In 3rd place on the LIV money list for 2024 is Sergio Garcia who has earned $11,459,643. The gargantuan money continues with Jon Rahm earning $12,754,488 in the 2024 season. The top earner on the LIV golf tour for 2024 is Chilean Joaquin Niemann, who has earned a massive $14,504,167, having won twice this year at LIV Golf Mayakoba in February and LIV Golf Jeddah in March. The leader of the individual standings at the end of the year will also take home an extra $18 million.

PGA Tour Top Earners

The LIV golf tour has a reputation for high earnings, but the earnings of the top PGA Tour players will shock you. The introduction of the signature events has resulted in increased earnings for players with the prize money increased. The prize money for the majors and other PGA tour events has also increased. Players such as Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele have been incredibly consistent this season and this shows in their earnings. Scheffler has 6 wins and 15 top 10s in 18 events that has earned him a total of $29,228,357. Schauffele is second on the list with his two majors wins and 13 Top 10s contributing to him earning $18,355,910. Hideki Matsuyama is next on the list, earning $11,237,611 helped by the fact he has two wins this season. 4th on the money list is American Wyndham Clark who has earned $10,901,416. Completing the top five earners for 2024 is Rory Mcilroy who has earned $10,893,790 with also two wins under his belt this season. This money is staggering and with $25 million going to the winner of the FedEx Cup, someone could shoot up the money list or add to their already massive earnings.

Other than the outliers of Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele the earnings between LIV players and PGA tour players are similar, certainly those who are in the top five in earnings for the 2024 season. The game of golf is more money-orientated than ever before and when you see the prize money that is going around it is no surprise that players are desperate to play events that will earn them the most money. The introduction of the signature events by the PGA tour has allowed them to compete financially with the LIV Golf tour, which should go a long way in helping them keep their best players until a potential deal is struck between the tours.